Hiking to Whiskeytown's Boulder Creek Falls in the Winter

The stormy weather broke just long enough for us to take a hike to Boulder Creek Falls. This is the one waterfall of Whiskeytown I had not been to, and I wasn’t about to wait until spring or summer to try it.

This past Saturday, I grabbed Kiva, my girlfriend, and some homemade breakfast burritos, and we headed out to the Whiskeytown Lake. We weren’t the only people who had the idea of taking advantage of the good weather, as there were a lot of people at the Visitor Center taking photos of the full lake. We ran into my good friend Ed, who had done a lot more solo hiking of the park than I knew, and he advised us on the trail conditions.

The advice was prudent for our first time doing this particular hike, so I will share it here: When going in winter, be sure to bring ‘plastic shoes’ (we deduced that this meant watershoes) and be prepared to get a little wet, and that the gate to the trailhead is closed so it’s going to be a longer hike, with the first part being steep and the second part being relatively level. One other piece of wisdom he imparted was that when he hiked alone on long treks on unfamiliar grounds, he had a ‘drop dead time,’ when he would turn around to avoid potentially getting lost or stuck with no one around to help him.

We followed 299 west, along the lake that had unseen levels of water due to the recent storms, and towards the trail. (Better directions will be provided at the end) We were able to follow the map up to a point, until we found a fork in the road with both trails being blocked off by closed gates. One, it seemed, was an access point to the Penstocks. The penstocks are the two large metal pipes made to transport water to the lake (and can be seen near the Carr Powerhouse). The other road that was closed off was our road. We parked here, and followed the gravel road. It was a steep climb, so we took constant breaks and felt like we needed to hit the gym more. Still, there were spots where the forest opened up and we could see glimpses of the valleys below.

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We could also see why the road was blocked off. At certain points, the edge had eroded and a heavy car would simply add to the damage. Plus, there were parts where debris from the recents storms were blocking the road. We only saw one other human being on the trail, a jogger headed in the opposite direction from us. At the end of the end of the road, we found the trailhead and where the parking area usually was. From here, the hike was moderately level. The surrounding area had been partially logged, leaving it looking open and meadow-like. We were surrounded by tall doug firs and oaks, and although there were spots of water, these were easy to manage.

It was Boulder Creek that would prove to be slightly more challenging. It looked like there had been a bridge across it at one point, but perhaps it had been washed away. We followed it a little up and down the creek, but the only bridge-like objects were logs that were slick with time. So, we took off our shoes, and crossed it.

With the recent rainfall, the water was somewhat swift and reached up to our upper calves. Our pants were rolled up, our cameras were held safely above the water in our hands, and we navigated the slippery rocks and made it across unharmed. From here, the falls were only 0.1 miles away. We put on our hiking shoes again, and headed up the river.

We came to a kind of small canyon. The trail was flooded at parts, so we had to get creative, but eventually we came to the 138 foot falls. It actually consists of three, smaller, cascading falls, but it was in a small opening of the canyon and we were the only humans around. We imagined that in the summer the pool might make a great swimming area, and the rocks surrounding it would make the perfect perch for a photo op. We are our burritos, took some photos (and played around with making cinemagraphs, a technology I like but have not been able to do well, and just enjoyed the bits of sun that filtered through the trees and into our mossy little canyon.

The hike back was much easier (although we did have to cross the creek again, barefoot and cold). Still, once I was on the other side of the creek, barefoot and sitting on a boulder, it was quiet and peaceful. It made me look forward even more to summer, when being barefoot would be the norm, and swimming would be cool rather than cold.

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We headed down, and the whole hike took us around 3 hours. Blue sky kept popping out from behind the clouds, and the only time it started raining was when we were driving past Old Shasta on our way back into Redding. (Big, heavy drops too). We were lucky to have nice weather to view the falls, and I am lucky to have a girlfriend who isn’t afraid to take off her shoes to get her feet cold and wet. I am also glad I live in an area where I can find a good hike after driving for as little as 20 minutes.

From Redding, follow 299 west. You will go past the Visitor Center turn off (unless you need to buy a park pass, which you should always do). Take a left at the Carr Powerhouse road, and then take a right onto Mill Creek Road which is only about a half mile away. Stay right, and the shut gate will be on Mill Creek Road, and be sure to park so the gate isn’t blocked.

Happy waterfall hunting!

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My wife and I moved to Redding Oct '16. We are always "pinching ourselves" everytime we drive the 5 minutes from our house on Iron Mountain to Whiskeytown. Even with all the amazing terrain that lies within an hour of Redding, Whiskeytown Lake NRA holds her own. Thanks for all your helpful tips. We sent to Whiskeytown Falls last week and are planning a camping trip and hike to these falls this week. Keep up the good work. You can check out pictures from our weekly adventures on IG @freedomwoods. Sunshine, happiness and smooth trails!